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It's very fitting that the first release of Joel Plaskett's new label, New Scotland Records, is a musical journey that pays homage to the greats that have influenced us for decades. Joel received critical acclaim for his voyage back to high school and the tales of two friends starting a band and now it seems Emergency drummer and solo artist, Dave Marsh is happy to reminisce as well.

But unlike Joel, Dave isn't looking back on those formative, awkward, angst filled years (although Backstreets Thread and The Way We Live Today definitely hit on the same era, just without the smiles) through narratives. Instead he plays with the sounds of the musical greats like Bowie, Strummer, Iggy, Bell/Chilton, Davies. It's easy to see the influence they have on Marsh's song writing, but with the flourishes from modern peers like Joel Plaskett, Peter Elkas, and Matt Murphy, the mix of old and new helps Marsh's work evolve into much more than another dusty rehash.

They say you have a lifetime to write your first record and Marsh, who has been playing rock n roll for over two decades, uses his debut as a melting pot for the styles and inspirations he's picked up on his wild ride. Whether it's a Bowie-esque melody and delivery on Forsaken By The Beautiful People or the cocksure swagger of The Way We Live Today you can't help but picture Marsh on stage wearing a huge smile. Consequently, True Love Rules is a perfect retrospective for so many music geeks. Ten years ago, would I have focused on the delicate AM radio undertones on the beautiful I Know Nothing Anymore? Without question the answer is no, but the subtle sunshine grabs my ear as much as the infectious bounce of Darling You, Nothing Else Matters.

Over the course of the fourteen songs, Marsh lets his lover know that "nothing else matters" and admits that no matter what anyone else thinks,"true love rules." I know he says both in a romantic context, but Marsh could easily be talking about his relationship with music. Being a full time touring artist is a lot of blood, sweat and tears, and often means watching the odometer turn on long drives after tiny club shows in no name towns.

The thing that keeps you going is the music and the need to create and after spinning Marsh's new record, his love of music can never be questioned. There are no fake messages or trendy effects or layers, and Marsh's sincerity that shines through. As a result, The True Love Rules is a collection of songs that are fun, deep, diverse and seem like they've been always been a crucial part of who you are.

A number of things have conspired to keep me from getting this stuff up, but I'm sure since we posted our initial recap plenty of people have been sitting eagerly by their feed reader waiting for the next installment. Well wait no longer, we've got a couple un-released songs from In-Flight Safety, a couple energetic numbers from Tokyo Police Club, and 3 classic jams from The Weakerthans. Enjoy.

I made mention of the lead single from The Avett Brothers new EP - Gleam II - earlier in the week, but Scott and Seth really deserve a bit more press after sitting down with the new release. For new fans of the band, the songs on Gleam II might seem like a drastic change of style. Gone are the rawkus, rollicking numbers. Gone is any sort of bass. Gone is most of the energy you equate to the NC band.

In their place are graceful, emotional confessionals that burn with a quiet intensity. The common themes are the same; love, death and family, but the delivery shows restraint and growth. A twinkle of piano, dueling guitars and banjo provide the most fragile supports for Seth and Scott to sing over and the result is incredibly powerful.

Most people are looking forward to the band's major label debut with Rick Rubin, but this EP is a perfect thank you for the fans that have followed the band over the years. The songs are sing-along waiting to happen; ones you play with your friends when the guitars come out after too many drinks and restraint gives way to bliss. Chances are working with Rubin will make these small town boys into big city stars that open for even bigger stars, but when you sit down and listen to Gleam II, you remember long family drives, growing up and falling in love and getting run over for the first time.

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I'm as shocked as anyone, but I am thoroughly enjoying the new record from Jakob Dylan. I hated the Wallflowers and honestly never paid Jakob much mind. But when I heard Rick Rubin was going to be on the knobs for Seeing Things, I was interested to see how he was going to guide Jakob. Would we travel a vast, desolate landscape full of emotions and gentle guitar picks or see Rubin filling out the arrangements, resulting in a huge solo rock record.

Thankfully - although most of his former fans would probably differ in opinion - we get the former. Dylan offers up a collection of stripped down, political tracks destined to find ring true in the ears of the working man. Rubin simply embellished the subtleties, let Jakob's voice steal the spotlight and the results are terrific. Given his name and father's legacy, I can see why Jakob was reluctant to jump into folk tales (even after this release he says his songs aren't social commentaries more just ideas and words), but his voice really works well with the messages he presents and he sidesteps the tendancy to name names and place places.

His words seem timeless; "I know that soldiers are not paid to think, but something is making us sick" or "of snow covered beaches, junkyards of diesel and bombers named after girls" are the type of images that could be from 1940 or 2008. It's a simple representation of a society at war, and that's what adds the weight to these soft songs.

The record moves like so many of us, trapped in despair at the state of the world but trying our hardest to believe that it can and will get better. The "light making it's way on up the mountain" shines brightly, but every day the mountain seems to be getting more and more unclimbable. We've become a culture of slogans and familiar imagary, one that holds onto hope while living in a situation that gets worse and worse every day and surprisingly, Dylan seems to voice this better than most.

Fairly busy week for your old friend Shane, but I thought I'd take time out to do you folks a frickin' service. Well, if you live or work in downtown Halifax, I'm doing you a service, otherwise you might not care. Starting tomorrow, there will be a series of free concerts taking place at lunchtime on the Grand Parade, and the lineup is fairly impressive:

Wednesday, July 23 – Gypsophilia (gypsy-jazz)
Thursday, July 24 – David Myles (folk)
Fridays, July 25 – Brent Randall (indie/pop/alternative)
Wednesday, July 30 – Thom Swift (roots/country-blues/rag)
Thursday, July 31 – Norma MacDonald (Americana/folk)
Friday, August 1 – Ryan Cook (country)
Wednesday, August 6 – The Sakura Quartet (classical)
Thursday, August 7 – David Bradshaw (folk/bluegrass/fusion)
Friday, August 8 – Steven Bowers (folk rock)
Wednesday, August 13 – Rebekah Higgs (folk-electric)
Thursday, August 14 – Jason Haywood (country/Southern rock)
Friday, August 15 – Ruth Minnikin (Americana/folk)
Wednesday, August 20 – Mike Aubé (folk/blues)
Thursday, August 21 – Ian Sherwood (rock/jazz/folk)
Friday, August 22 – Dan McKinnon (Maritime roots/traditional)
Wednesday, August 27 – The Strangeboys (bluegrass)
Thursday, August 28 – Chelsea Nisbett (urban/R&B)
Friday, August 29 – Beyond Brazil (Brazilian folk/jazz)
Wednesday, September 3 – Kev Corbett (folk)
Thursday, September 4 – The SideCats (roots/world/jazz/blues)
Friday, September 5 – The Stanfields (folk rock/roots)

There's certainly some folks there that we've already covered plenty on the hill (David Myles, Brent Randall, Rebekah Higgs), but there's also plenty of other talent on offer. I know the weather hasn't really been ideal for outdoor concerts this week, but I'm sure there are more sunny days ahead, so keep these shows in mind.

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Every so often a CD ends up in my mailbox and I'm left wondering … "what the &%#$ is this?" Who is this person and how did they get my address? Ninety-nine percent of the time it leads to a CD less valuable than one of those old AOL discs they used to mail out to anyone with a address, but in the case of Fort McMurray's Gravity Wave, the unexpected gift was a pleasant surprise.

I'll be completely honest, this would have been a tough sell if I'd known any better. Ken Farrell, at least in the pics I've seen, is rocking a white guy S curl and plays stripped down, art heavy electro jams. Usually, those type of jams get passed on like Sammy Bhalla playing the wing denial, but Ken's music isn't simply a vessel for his creative, quirky art school styles.

No, the Twin Prime Conjecture EP is pretty stellar lo-fi electro pop. Jams like Nectar and Buffalo Jump (the acoustic, bass and ghostly, prairie plains whistle that fill out the beat on the latter sounds terrific) are infectious tracks, but Ken's able to control the pace with slower, brooding numbers like the Britrock-infused Ghost In The Machine.

I'm not sure how easy it is for a project like this to gain momentum, but he's opened for bands the Helio Sequence and Canadian talents like Laura Barrett, Woodhands and the RAA have volunteered to play as his backing band. Without a doubt, the surge of Gravity Wave is building and if Ken's music keeps progressing, he might soon be on the same level as the countless number of musicians that sing his praises.

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All too often people try to make a song into something it's not. Forcing significance or emotion into a few simple strums so they can channel their own hangups and insecurities through another person's pen. Well, on Murder in the City by The Avett Brothers, the sentiments expressed will never be misconstrued.

The power of the starkly honest song hits with the force on a car crash. The purity of love, the cold touch of death, and the always stretched, but never breaking bond of family; the Avetts open up to anyone who takes the time to listen and when they harmonize the last line of - "A tear fell from my father's eyes, I wondered what my dad would say. He said I love you and proud of you both, in so many different ways" - it's impossible not to get engulfed by the rush of emotion.

Pick up Gleam II when it comes out tomorrow. If this song is any indication, the EP is destined to be one you turn to when the clouds are the darkest or the sun shines the brightest.

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It's a remarkable talent to craft pop songs that seem like they take no thought at all. While that might seem like a slag, I'm completely serious. Most pop that falls short is too formulaic, with sunshine and fun forced into every orifice and sounds like a tired rehash of songs from years ago.

But when I listen to the The Mood - which I have countless times in the last two weeks - almost every thought escapes my mind and critique goes out the window. I'm not sure how, but on tracks like In the Forest and Eskimo Scientist, the quintet makes you want to pogo around your bedroom but the sounds still shimmer with the sounds of California in the 60's.

Behind the strength of Marco Argiro's hooks, the quintet's new EP - Synaedthesia - flies by with touches of power pop, pop punk and straight ahead summery pop and I find myself reaching for the volume knob, unconcerned about being THAT guy driving around blaring music at ridiculous levels. No, when Corinne and Marco harmonize over sunshine filled rhythms and crunchy guitars, I just smile and sometimes that's all you need.

All right friends, a busy weekend gone by and a busy week on the docket means I don't have much time for OSM. But we'll still bang one out because that is just how we get down on the hill.

Anyway, due to our coverage of Halifax's Summersonic festival this past week, I found myself typing the name a lot, and about half the time I wrote it as "Supersonic". That is due to the song of the same name from old school, LA female trio J.J. Fad. I wasn't actually a huge fan of the song back in the day, but it was always just kind of around, and it's always been a favorite amongst bass music enthusiasts. And if I've done nothing else on this site, I've always made sure to cater to the bass music fans. Or not, either or. So here's Supersonic from their self-titled debut, which came out on Ruthless records in '88 and was produced by Dre and DJ Yella.

There is really no connection between J.J. Fad and Latifah, as far as I know, but Petra was watching a Queen Latifah bio on TV when I started writing this OSM and I figured I haven't featured many female MC's, so it made sense to make this an all-female edition. Not sure I have to write much about Latifah, as I'm guessing that unless you live in a tv-free closet, you know who Latifah is. Most people think of Ladies First when they think of Latifah's first album, but not me, Dance For Me was always my favorite song from that album. Not sure why, but I think it might have something to do with the awesome 45 King horns on the beat. Well that and the video is very, very awesome, with Latifah's African General shorts set and the wicked black & white rap-dance freakouts. I still enjoy it, hopefully you do too.

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For me, routine equals comfort. I crave feeling the familiar touches, smelling the familiar smells and most importantly, hearing the familiar sounds. The last few weeks have disturbed my routine in ways I could have never imagined.

For the first time ever, I owe a bank lots of money, and will continue to do so for 25 more years. Throw in the fact my job status that is as unpredictable as the weather in an ocean side town and it's hard not to feel a bit lost at sea. Finding my routine is something I need; like dropping anchor in the safe harbour after a long trek.

After three years in the same place, visiting the same spots insignificant tasks like deciding what market I should buy my vegetables or even something as simple as a left or right at the bottom of my hill on a my morning jog seems as crucial as what colour should we paint the office or what is the most important skill to lead with on my resume if I need to start shipping it out again.

Vancouver's Cameron Latimer sounds familiar. Not in a way that he sounds like any or every other country tinged artist, more that his sound is comforting. The dusty steel notes that bend across his melancholy words makes me remember that if even for a few minutes, life is simple and doesn't need any long term thoughts or well constructed explanations.

All right, thanks to the co-operation of the weather yesterday, the Ack and I were able to head downtown and enjoy day 1 of the inaugural Summersonic Festival at the base of Citadel Hill here in Halifax. There were rumours of rain and perhaps a thundershower or two, but we only felt a few drops throughout our time there, and, like the rest of the crowd, we were glad for that.

In fact, the crowd is a good place to start. Simply put, it wasn't very big. Considering the size of the venue, and the quality of the acts, I thought the crowd would easily be double what we saw there. I'm not sure what the deal was, I know there was plenty of other music on (in fact one of the Urban stations here was putting on their annual festival yesterday too, but I'm not sure how much crossover there would be in the audiences), but perhaps they should've done more advertising for the event. But not to dwell on the negative, because the event itself was pretty awesome. It was run smooth and on time, the facilities provided were great, and the all the performers sounded great.

I'll be posting some of our footage and video throughout the day, but if you are able to head down and check out today's bill (I See Rowboats, Hey Rosetta!, The Black Keys, Wintersleep, Stars), I certainly would.

Yesterday started with local girl made good, Rebekah Higgs. Higgs has started to make a splash on the National scene - her video for Parables is getting muchmusic love - but she seemed eager to win over the local crowd. Her set, although only 40 minutes, was jam packed with smiles, energy and echobox fun.

She's a charming performer, and the full band treatment of songs like Parables and Happy real sounded thicker than the quaint electro fused recorded versions I'm so familiar with, but the density really made them stand out. She debuted a new song - Youth and Beauty - and if it's any indicator of what her next release is going to be about, we are all in luck.

Up next was the anthem driven rock songs of In-Flight Safety. The boys had been on a long hiatus, with recording and living the spoils of the Dell conglomerate, but they showed up ready to unveil new songs on the Halifax faithful. All too often bands that write booming arena style anthems are dismissed as U2 or Coldplay wannabees, but some of the new material IFS played is killer. Model House is going to be a smash hit.

My favorite part of the set was the sound the engineer was able to get out of the band. Normally, the keyboard is lost at big shows, but Daniel Ledwell's plastic ivory work was perfect and they certainly got the energy up for heat stroked crowd.

I've always been on the fence about TPC. I can see why people like them - quick, energetic snyth laced crunchers usually hit home with indie rock fans - but I kind of think the band said all I needed to hear on their first EP. I'm not saying the newer stuff isn't good, it's just the same kind of good and not really in my house of wheel.

But the bands played a long set and had kids running from the hill down to the front to bounce around and compare leggings and angular hair. But I have to admit, even this old codger was smiling when they tore through Nature of the Experiment.

And now the reason when Shane and I were stoked to be in attendance. The Weakerthans. John K. Samson is a Canadian icon, or at least he should be. He writes songs that are perfect portrayals of the common man, but crafts super catchy hooks around his well thought out descriptions and the live act that accompanies the songs is worth any price of admission. Plus, special guest Jim Bryson was on the scene to thicken up the sound.

I know their might be more space between the follicles, but these "old timers" showed the young kids how a rock show should go down. Syncro axe moves, jump kicks (thanks Gregor), a huge set of hits followed by a terrific encore (hearing 2000 people scream I hate Winnipeg at the top of their lungs was a great moment) pretty well cemented the first ever Summersonic festival as a success. The new material - like Sun in an Empty Room, Civil Twilight and Night Windows actually held their own nicely amongst the crowd favs, which was great to see.

Finally - City and Colour. What can we say about the headliners? Well, not much because we only stayed for two songs. I know the kiddies love the guitar ditties Dallas Green writes, but after the Weakerthans set and the $6 cans of beer I had my fill. I will say this though, people were still raring to go as we saw people buying tickets for the band despite the lofty price tag even as we left.

So there you go. Day 1 was a banger. Day 2? Well, we will soon see.

Ok, I didn't have much of an official post prepared for today, but it's a hot, beautiful afternoon here in Halifax, and so I thought I'd throw out a few songs appropriate for such an occasion. Sounds fun no?

Let's start with Oakland's The High Decibels. I'm not gonna front and say I know much about these dudes, but we got sent some info on them yesterday, and what I do know is they make some funky, fun hip hop that features plenty of live instrumentation. And not just instrumentation, but some blues-flavoured instrumentation, and the result is much better than I would've thought. The song we were sent is called Miss Cindy and if you are mixing drums that sound like a combo of Hey Ladies & Jimmy James with rocking blues riffs, you can rap about Cindy Lauper, Cindy Margolis, or Cindy Spillner - I don't care. Plus look at the sharp suits they are rocking, more than enough a merit a posting I would say.

The other day whilst writing my Summersonic post, I realized that In-Flight Safety were prepping a new album for release in the near future, and I thought "I should mention that". However, I didn't realize until now that I left that bit of news out entirely, so if you were planning to skip Summersonic due to lack of new IFS material, think again! Anyway, as I said, IFS are playing Summersonic on Saturday, and you can read about their new album on their website.

If you happen to be looking for musical entertainment this weekend that is Summer related, but sans sonic, Edmonton's Hot Panda are playing something called SUMMERFUNFEST tonight at Gus'. You likely recognize Hot Panda from their appearance on our Alberta mixtape, and they will be joined by Scribbler, A/V, and Murder Sounds. It does sound like a fest of fun.

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It's obvious that herohill doesn't really act as the voice of the people... well unless there aren't very many people left in the world and the remaining few only listen to Golden Age hip hop, gritty blues, folk and love the banjo. But even without VIP status, I'm pretty shocked that more people didn't fall in love with PEI's (but residing in Halifax) Catherine MacLellan last year.

You might remember that last year Naedoo got a hold of her record - Church Bell Blues - and pleaded with you to take a listen. Well, as a quick search indicates… chances are you chose to ignore him. With all the hub-ub about the beautiful female singers from Canada (people embraced Feist, Jenn Grant, and Rebekah Higgs), it seemed pretty natural for MacLellan's record to be a well received.

But Church Bell Blues has kind of toiled in obscurity. Luckily, it's getting another push with a stateside release, so I figured now is a good of time as any to point you back in MacLellan's direction. I'm not going to rehash what Shane wrote last year. He hit the nail on the head and gave more than enough praise to get you interested, but I'll just say her voice and imagery are pure and honest, and the mix of electric guitar over top of the acoustic really gives some of the tracks the muscle they deserve.

But overall, her songs are traditional folk, in the realm of classic artists like Joni Mitchell, and her voice and guitar put a smile on your face as they strip away your stress. Seriously, if you can't unwind over the beautiful harmonies and nice electric solo of The Long Way Home or the get out on the open road feel of Brave Love, I hope your 50 Red Bulls and day trades are treating you well Boiler Room.

So readers... will you listen this time around? Probably not, but I'd love to see you prove me wrong and start hearing MacLellan's voice crackling through old car radios in the near future.

Somehow a day that should have been about as stress free as a day at the beach has ended up with my boss leaving the company and Naedoo and I lifting a bed through a third story window. Awesome! Anyway, long story short; tonight is the first night in the new home.

So how can I pass this onto you? Well pinstripe, the answer is through classic raps jams with "house" tucked into the title. C'maaan. Isn't that a catchy enough idea to get some love from the faceless hypem readers?

Despite the best intentions, I rarely get tour listings posted earlier than the week of the shows. Not sure why that is really, but I think it's because I try not to post them too early, but then other things come up and them when I realize I have yet to post them, the show is two days away. Not the best pub for shows, but hey, I guess you get what you pay for. Anyway, all this waffle is serving as the preamble for a concert series I won't be attending, even if I wanted to. And I do want to, believe me.

Rock The Bells has to be the premiere hip hop festival on the scene today (is it the only hip hop festival I know about? Perhaps, but it's still stellar). This isn't news to most I would guess, but it is hitting Toronto and Vancouver for the first time this year, and the lineups are really quite incredible, so I thought I'd post it up. I mean have a gander at just the headliners:

A Tribe Called Quest(!)
The Pharcyde(!)
Nas
Mos Def
De La Soul
Rakim
Method Man & Redman
Raekwon & Ghostface

A reunited Tribe (the whole squad, Jarobi included!) and the return of the Pharcyde? Rakim? Yes, yes, and yes. This is not even to mention some of the other acts scheduled, of both the solid underground and up & coming variety (Immortal Technique, Murs, Dead Prez, Jedi Mind Tricks, Wale, The Cool Kids, Blue Scholars). I know not all of those acts are at every show (check the site), but the list is really quite impressive no matter who's playing where. So if you're in any of the cities below, I'd start warming up your finest b-boy stance.

Sat    7/19     Chicago, IL
Sun    7/20     Toronto, ON
Sat    7/26     Boston, MA
Sun    7/27     New York, NY
Sat    8/2      Miami, FL
Sun    8/3      Philadelphia, PA
Sat    8/9      Los Angeles, CA
Sat    8/16     San Francisco, CA
Sat    8/23     Denver, CO
Sat    8/30     Vancouver, BC